Before Celadet Alî Bedirxan was even born, the stamp of exile had already been placed on the foreheads of his father and grandfather. It was a long-lasting exile, so much so that all members of the Bedirxan family, young and old, grew up, studied, married, and were imprisoned in distant places. Tragically, they were exiled within exile, to the point where they had to flee from exile itself, having somehow grown accustomed to that life. That is to say, already far from their homeland, many members of the Bedirxan family were forced to abandon even their land of exile.
One of these members was Celadet Alî Bedirxan, the son of Emîn Alî Bedirxan (born 1851, Crete) (Veroj, 2018: 18), who was born in Istanbul in 1893. Although we generally say 1893, Rewşen Bedirxan notes that Celadet himself likely knew his real birth year but preferred not to say. Perhaps for psychological reasons, he did not want the age difference between them to be revealed (Uzun, 2020: 46). However, from Celadet Bedirxan's diary, we can deduce that he was indeed born in 1893, as he noted in 1924 that he was 31 years old (Bedirxan, 2015: 69).
Furthermore, Rewşen Bedirxan notes that he was born in Kadıköy, Istanbul, in May, but his birth was highly problematic—to the extent that they initially thought he was dead. When Celadet Bedirxan was born, his mother fell ill due to his very large head. They wanted to call a doctor and informed his father, Emîn Alî, but he remarked that the doctor wouldn't come and to let him die. Because of this, they went to Bedri Pasha (Emîn Alî’s brother) and explained the situation. He sent a doctor. When the doctor arrived, Celadet’s mother's condition was critical. He managed to deliver the child, but the baby was injured and born looking dead, bleeding. The doctor focused on the mother to save her. The girl helping them went to check if Celadet was cold, and suddenly ran back crying out, "The child is alive, the one you said was dead!" (Uzun, 2020: 46-47).
Years of Exile and Education
When Kamiran Bedirxan was 9 and Celadet Bedirxan was 11, while they were studying at Galatasaray High School, the assassination of Ridvan Pasha occurred. Consequently, all the children of the Bedirxan Pasha family were pulled from school and exiled along with their families; some were even arrested. Emîn Alî Bedirxan was working in Ankara at the time, doing very well in his job and earning a good salary. Although he was not involved in the incident, simply being a Bedirxan resulted in him being exiled with his family (Henning, 2021: 275).
Their first stop was Isparta. Kamiran Bedirxan speaks very fondly of Isparta, even noting that the local people treated them with respect. However, this was of course not enough; the children needed to continue their education. Unfortunately, because they were viewed as political threats, the children were not accepted into schools. They had to ask for permission from the Governor of Konya. Until permission was granted, Emîn Alî did not leave his children without education. Every night, he would gather them around him, and they would analyze Kurdish poetry and Iranian classics (Blau, 2019: 71-72).
Emîn Alî Bedirxan, who was never disconnected from politics, raised his children with awareness and education. In Istanbul, Kamiran and Celadet Bedirxan also became members of various organizations and distinguished themselves through writing. As Veroj (2018: 40) indicates, a letter written to the newspaper Serbestî was Celadet Bedirxan’s first published piece, and "this letter was published on November 20, 1908, in the 5th issue of Serbestî newspaper" (Şavata, 2020: 47). Moreover, their writings from that period were in Turkish, defending Islam and Ottomanism. When Kamiran Bedirxan speaks of those days, he notes that half of their minds were Muslim, and the other half was Ottoman (Chaliand, 2019: 116).
Post WWI and the European Journey
However, after the First World War, times changed, the Ottoman Empire collapsed, and politics shifted. Some intellectuals turned their focus directly toward Kurdish nationalism, while others withdrew. Some were forced to flee due to harsh sentences, as was the case for Emîn Alî and his sons. When the death sentence was handed down for Emîn Alî and his three sons—Sureyya, Celadet, and Kamiran—they were forced to go abroad. Sureyya Bedirxan went to Egypt with his father, while Celadet and Kamiran headed to Germany.
One can catch a glimpse of his years in Germany from his diary, even if he did not write about them in great depth. When Celadet and Kamiran Bedirxan went to Germany, they did not abandon their education. Both enrolled in the law department. However, Germany at the time was in a terrible state, so their life there was far from comfortable. In his diary, Celadet Bedirxan speaks of the lack of money and food, the terrible economic crisis gripping Germany, and his meetings with his brothers Kamiran, Tewfîq, and Safder. He also mentions being expelled from university due to a lack of funds when he was 31 years old (Bedirxan, 2015: 69). He doesn’t specify later whether he continued, but according to information from Rewşen Bedirxan, he did continue, received his diploma, and even worked as a lawyer in Damascus (Uzun, 2020: 90-91).
Despite these dire conditions, Celadet Bedirxan did not give up learning languages, attending concerts, and traveling. He is even shown taking violin lessons early on (Bedirxan, 2015: 23). Although the money his father sent him was severely devalued against the German currency, it was still of some use. However, once his father’s salary was cut, he was left penniless, and his situation worsened (Bedirxan, 2015: 40). Because of these events, he felt psychologically drained, having never imagined experiencing such poverty where his only food was potatoes (Bedirxan, 2015: 49-50).
To make a living, he translated the stories of Nasreddin Hodja and sent them to publishers, occasionally wrote articles for newspapers, wrote stories in German, gave private lessons, and sold stamps. Interestingly, he also taught Greek lessons there, which shows his proficiency in Greek was excellent (Bedirxan, 2015: 65-66). Kamiran Bedirxan also confirms this information; as seen in his memoirs, during their journey into exile, they boarded a Greek ship, and the captain was very fond of the children because they spoke beautiful Greek. Kamiran Bedirxan explains that when they were children, their father had hired a Greek tutor for them because he wanted his children to learn the widely spoken languages of the empire (Blau, 2019: 74). In addition to Greek lessons, they also gave Turkish lessons (Uzun, 2020: 91).
From Politics to Language and Culture
Celadet Bedirxan remained in Germany until 1925. Afterward, he returned to Egypt to join his family. In 1927, he went to Damascus. Some Kurdish intellectuals in Damascus at the time founded the Xoybûn movement, and Celadet Bedirxan was among them. For two or three years, he traveled back and forth between Turkey and Syria. However, this movement did not succeed, and Celadet Bedirxan withdrew from politics, returning to Damascus in 1930 to dedicate himself to language and culture.
Language and cultural work opened a new path for him because, in his view, a generation could progress and develop national consciousness through the pen, writing, and reading. Driven by these thoughts, he began working on the Kurdish alphabet, wanting to base it on Latin script. To him, the path to modernization was tied to the alphabet, and the Latin alphabet provided an easy way to learn reading and writing. For these reasons, Celadet Bedirxan believed a publication was necessary to awaken the public. Rewşen Bedirxan confirms this, saying that Hawar (The Call) was more influential than Xoybûn. Since it was a magazine, it reached everywhere. While Xoybûn consisted of a hundred people, this magazine distributed thousands of copies worldwide (Uzun, 2020: 67-69).
The question of the alphabet was a sensitive matter for Celadet Bedirxan because it represented a new voice. A human voice is invisible, but writing is not—it has a visual form. Furthermore, the human voice is limited and can only be heard nearby, while the voice of writing can reach every corner of the world. This is why this alphabet was so important to Celadet Bedirxan. He wanted the voice of consciousness, knowledge, and unity to be heard worldwide. Only then would Kurds be able to hear each other's voices. This voice was a gateway into the modern, European world.
Celadet Bedirxan valued his people deeply. He wanted their language not to remain confined to the home or restricted to just a few words. In his eyes, Kurdish was in no way inferior to any other language, and with dedication, it could rise to a high level.
Hawar ceased publication in 1943, but another magazine called Ronahî (The Light) emerged, described as its supplement, though slightly different. This illustrated magazine was first published on April 1, 1942, and continued until March 1945.
The Well of Fate
After both magazines ceased, Celadet Bedirxan continued his life in Damascus with his family. The year 1951 began as a promising year for their livelihood, but it also turned out to be tragic. That year, Celadet Bedirxan started cultivating cotton. The village where he worked was 30 km away from his family. He wanted to dig a well there. He named this well "Bîra Qederê" (The Well of Fate) and used this name as his address in his last letter. While digging the well, an accident occurred, and Celadet Bedirxan fell into it, into the mud. When they pulled him out, they found him covered in mud. He was rushed to the hospital, where he lost his life (Uzun, 2020: 188-191).
His death, like his birth, was tragic. Yet, he left a massive legacy for future generations. As Fırat Aydınkaya (2016: 9) notes, the history of Kurdish modernization cannot be written without Celadet Bedirxan; he is the one who paved the way for Kurdish modernization through modern Kurdish, modern print, modern consciousness, the alphabet, and grammar.
REFERENCES
AYDINKAYA, Fırat, "Kürt Modernleşmesi Dosya Editörü", in Kürt Tarihi, issue: 25, Istanbul 2016, pp. 8-9.
BEDIRXAN, Celadet Alî, Rojên Almanyayê (1922-1925), Osman Özçelik (Transl.), Avesta Yayınları, Istanbul 2015.
BEDIRXAN, Rewşen - Mehmed UZUN, Sohbeti ve Mektuplar, Banyas 1985, Avesta Yayınları, Istanbul 2020.
BLAU, Joyce, "Emir Kamiran Bedirxan’ın Anıları", in Kamiran Alî Bedirxan (1895-1978), Avesta Yayınları, Istanbul 2019, pp. 61-82.
CHALIAND, Gérard, "Emir Kamiran Bedirxan ile İlişkilerime Dair Tanıklık", in Kamiran Alî Bedirxan (1895-1978), Avesta Yayınları, Istanbul 2019, pp. 115-118.
HENNING, Barbara, Osmanlı-Kürt Bedirxani Aile Tarihinin İmparatorluk ve İmparatorluk Sonrası Bağlamlarındaki Anlatıları: Devamlılıklar ve Değişimler, İbrahim Bingöl (transl.), Avesta Yayınları, Istanbul 2021.
ŞAVATA, Bahoz, "Bi Seîd Veroj re li ser Pirtûka Du Birayên Bedirxanî: Celadet û Kamiran Bedirxan (1913-1923)", in Kürt Tarihi, issue: 42, Istanbul 2020, pp. 46-51.
VEROJ, Seîd, Du Birayên Bedirxanî: Celadet û Kamiran Bedirxan 1913-1923, Dara Yayınları, Diyarbakır 2018.
Translations on Botan Times are assisted by Gemini AI. All content is thoroughly reviewed and approved by an editor before publication.
Dr. Sevda Orak Reşîtoglu zimannas e. Hakema 3 kovarên zanistî û edîtora du kovaran e. Wergêra Fransî-Kurdî ye. Lêkolînên zanistî li ser Yarsanîyan û "Normên Rastnivîsîna Hawarê" kirine. Kitaba Dr. Shahab Vali ya Kurdên Yarsan ji Fransî kiriye Tirkî.
